Autonomous hvac system realtime performance monitoring, maintenance and carbon footprint monitoring cloud platform

ABSTRACT

A control apparatus for controlling at least one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a microvalve, at least one intelligent controller, a local intelligent gateway in communication with the intelligent controller, a cloud platform in communication with the local intelligent gateway, and a local device configured to communicate through the cloud platform to the intelligent controller. The intelligent controller is configured to control one or more HVAC components, measure air conditioning system parameters including compressor discharge and suction pressure and compressor temperature of a compressor within the HVAC system, and air out, evaporator out, and condenser out temperatures, and superheat and subcooling, and input the measured air conditioning system parameters to the cloud platform to autonomously monitor air conditioning system health and real-time refrigerant charge levels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to the control of heating, cooling, and refrigeration sensor systems. In particular, this invention provides real-time charge monitoring and day-to-day performance reporting of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The invention may be used to reduce the carbon footprint of a building and also to reduce the load on the energy grid for the energy provider.

Global energy demand for cooling has more than tripled since 1990 and could more than double between now and 2040 without stricter efficiency standards or better monitoring systems in place to ensure that existing systems are more efficient and configured to reduce the carbon footprint and the load on the energy grid.

A major challenge is that the operation of air conditioning systems is, itself, a major contributor to global warming. Together, building operations that include heating, cooling, and lighting account for 28 percent of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. That is more than the greenhouse gas emissions of the entire global transportation sector.

For example, in the year 2021, the month of July was the hottest month in 142 years of record-keeping. The global, combined land and ocean-surface temperature during that month was 1.67 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees. The previous record was set in 2016, and was repeated in 2019 and 2020. In the Northern Hemisphere, the land-surface temperature for July 2021 was 2.77 degrees hotter than average. The current solution to a warming world is the installation of more air conditioning systems. This solution is unsustainable as the air conditioning systems are monitored very little or not at all.

Some attempts to monitor air conditioner performance have been made. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,578,121 to Arunasalam et al. and owned by DunAn Microstaq, Inc. (DMQ) of Austin, Tex. provides real-time air conditioning system performance monitoring that may be automated to provide daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly performance reports of the cooling or air conditioning system. The platform is embedded with system intelligence to identify critical drifts in system performance.

System performance monitoring in U.S. Pat. No. 9,578,121 is accomplished by using DMQ's Digital Pressure Sensor Temperature-Super Heat Sensor (DPTS/USHX), as described in one or more of U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,140,613, 9,404,815, 9,772,235, and 10,648,719.

The earth is warming, and global heating and air conditioning systems are an active contributor to the problem. Thus, there is a need for better monitored, better maintained, and more efficiently run heating and air conditioning systems. It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved cloud based method that provides real-time HVAC charge monitoring, day-to-day HVAC system performance reports, and intelligent maintenance, thus helping to reduce the carbon footprint of a building and also to reduce the load on the energy grid for the energy provider.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an improved cloud based method that provides real-time charge monitoring and day-to-day performance reports of an HVAC system, and helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the building and also to reduce the load on the energy grid for the provider.

In one embodiment, a control apparatus for controlling at least one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a microvalve, at least one intelligent controller, a local intelligent gateway in communication with the intelligent controller, a cloud platform in communication with the local intelligent gateway, and a local device configured to communicate through the cloud platform to the intelligent controller. The intelligent controller is configured to control one or more HVAC components, measure air conditioning system parameters including compressor discharge and suction pressure and compressor temperature of a compressor within the HVAC system, and air out, evaporator out, and condenser out temperatures, and superheat and subcooling, and input the measured air conditioning system parameters to the cloud platform to autonomously monitor air conditioning system health and real-time refrigerant charge levels.

Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in view of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a first embodiment of a control apparatus in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a first type of controller that may be used in the first embodiment of the control system shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second type of controller that may be used in the first embodiment of the control system shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a second embodiment of a control apparatus in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of a third embodiment of a control apparatus in accordance with this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As will be explained in detail below, this invention provides a wireless cloud computing architecture solution for the control of heating, cooling, and/or refrigeration electronic expansion valve and sensor systems. More specifically, this invention relates to a sensor cloud platform for autonomous real-time heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) performance monitoring and intelligent maintenance configured for use in existing and new buildings. The sensor cloud platform according to the invention may be used by a variety of users, including but not limited to building owners, property managers, renters, and city managers. The sensor cloud platform according to the invention allows the users to make better decisions on HVAC system performance and building cooling needs at an affordable cost, provides real-time charge monitoring and day-to-day performance reports of an HVAC system, and helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the building. The load on the energy grid and the strain on the environment may be reduced by ensuring that air conditioning systems are monitored and operating at an optimal level at all times.

Generally, the term “cloud computing” refers to the use of computing resources, such as hardware and software, which are delivered as a service over a cloud computing network (which may, for example, be embodied as the internet). End users may access cloud-based applications through a web browser and/or a specific graphic-user-interface (or other) application provided on a light-weight desktop or a mobile computing device, while the application software and user data may be stored on servers at a remote location. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale over a network, similar to an electrical grid of a utility. Thus, cloud computing allows individuals and enterprises to get applications up and running faster with improved manageability and less maintenance. Cloud computing also enables information technology systems to more rapidly adjust resources to meet fluctuating and unpredictable business demand.

A cloud instance is a virtual server in a cloud computing environment and is built and delivered by commercially available cloud platforms. A cloud platform offers computing resources and services. The cloud instances are on-demand and can spin up and down based on a user's requirements. Such cloud instances may serve unique roles, such as one instance running a database query service and reporting the query output.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a diagrammatic view of a first embodiment of a control apparatus, indicated generally at 10, in accordance with this invention. The control apparatus 10 includes one or more intelligent controllers 12, also shown in FIG. 3 , that may wirelessly send and receive information to a cloud computing network embodied as a cloud platform 13 through a local area network 14 and a local intelligent gateway 16. One example of the intelligent controller 12 is the DMQ Digital Pressure Sensor Temperature-Super Heat Sensor (DPTS/USHX), as described in one or more of U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,140,613, 9,404,815, 9,772,235, and 10,648,719. A DMQ DPTS/USHX for example, configured in accordance with this invention as the intelligent controller 12, may be installed directly and permanently to the air conditioning system contractor service ports. Advantageously, the installation of a DMQ DPTS/USHX in an existing air conditioning system will not void a manufacturer warranty.

The one or more intelligent controllers 12 may, as shown in FIG. 1 , be associated with and control one or more conventional HVAC systems components such as, for example, a heat pump unit 12A and an air conditioning unit or air conditioning system or systems 12B. The local intelligent gateway 16 collects information from one or more of these intelligent controllers 12 (by means of the local area network 14) and stores such information in a structured format in one or more databases 20 and 30 that may, as shown in FIG. 1 , be provided within the cloud platform 13 for easy analysis, although such is not required. While the local intelligent gateway 16 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as communicating with only a single one of each of the databases 20 and 30, it will be appreciated that the local intelligent gateway 16 may alternatively communicate with both (or more) of such databases 20 and 30, which may either be provided within the cloud platform 13 or elsewhere as desired.

The local intelligent gateway 16 may also communicate with a cloud intelligent gateway 32 that, in turn, communicates with the databases 20 and 30. As with typical cloud architecture, the databases 20 and 30 may be shared with a plurality of users. Similarly, the cloud intelligent gateway 32 may be shared with a plurality of users. The local intelligent gateway 16 communicates with the cloud platform 13. The control system 10 uses client application software that has the ability to communicate with the intelligent controllers 12 (in a manner that is governed by policies based on the application) and retrieve information from the cloud platform 13.

The control system 10 further includes client application software 34 that may, for example, be application-specific software for the particular end application. For example, the client application software 34 may be embodied as an environmental management system provided within a commercial location. The client application software 34 has the ability to communicate with the cloud platform 13 and to send and receive relevant information. The client application software 34 may be installed on any desired device such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computing device, or other mobile or stationary device (not shown).

The database 20 may, for example, be used to store raw data, while the database 30 may be used to store the data in a structured format. The cloud platform 13 also includes the cloud intelligent gateway 32 running in the cloud platform 13 that may perform a variety of functions, including (1) communicating with the databases 20 and 30 and retrieve pertinent information; (2) communicating with the end intelligent heating and cooling devices 12 through the local area network 14 to query the health of an HVAC system and rectify the health of the system if need be; (3) communicate with each other through the cloud intelligent gateway 32; and (4) provide a gateway for end-user applications that would communicate to the intelligent devices for various services such as monitoring, generating reports, and remotely controlling the intelligent controllers 12. Additionally, cloud instances may communicate with each other through the cloud intelligent gateway 32 and directly with the cloud intelligent gateway 32.

The local intelligent gateway 16 may perform a variety of functions, including (1) running an application to send structured data to the cloud storage units 20 and 30; (2) communicating with the intelligent controllers 12 through wireless interfaces such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, cellular modems, RFIDs, and the like; (3) understanding instructions and policies to communicate with intelligent controllers 12; and (4) communicating with the cloud intelligent gateway 32. Additionally, when the cloud network is down, the local intelligent gateway 16 will store data locally (also known as journaling) and then upload data to the cloud platform 13 once the connectivity is available.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a first type of controller, indicated generally at 22, that may be used in the control system shown in FIG. 1 . For example, each of the intelligent controllers 12 may include the illustrated microvalve 22, which may, for example, be embodied as a Silqflo® microvalve, which is commercially available from DunAn Microstaq of Austin, Tex. The microvalve 22 may use micro-electro-mechanical systems design and process techniques and may leverage the highly accurate and repeatable tunability of silicon wafer resistivity. Such a microvalve 22 may be actuated by applying electrical current to one of three silicon layers, which generates heat as a result of the resistance to the flow of such electrical current therethrough. The heat generated by the resistivity of the silicon material causes thermal expansion of the silicon material that, in turn, provides both force and mechanical motion to open and close a valve. The heating (and, therefore, the movement of the silicon material of the microvalve 22) may be controlled very precisely. As a result, the linearity of motion of the microvalve 22 may be limited only by how precisely the application of the electrical current may be controlled.

The basic structure of the illustrated microvalve 22 is illustrated in FIG. 2 . As shown therein, the microvalve 22 has a three layer, sliding plate, silicon valve construction including a top layer 24, a center layer 26, and a bottom layer 28. The top silicon layer 24 includes electrical interconnection interface “ports” and also serves as an upper cover to a sliding plate mechanism. The center layer 26 includes a thermal actuator and a sliding plate mechanism. The bottom layer 28 includes flow ports and also serves as a lower cover to the sliding plate mechanism. In a manner that is well known in the art, the thermal actuator of the center layer 26 moves the sliding plate over the fixed position ports in the bottom layer 28, thus causing operation the microvalve 22.

The microvalve 22 may be embodied as either a direct-acting type or a pilot-spool type. Typically, the direct-acting type of microvalve 22 includes three ports, namely, a first port that is normally open, a second port that is normally closed, and a third port that functions as a common port. When no electrical power is applied to the microvalve 22, fluid may enter the microvalve 22 from either the normally open or the normally closed port and exit the microvalve 22 through the common port. The pilot-spool type of microvalve 22 is also standard in a normally-actuated valve configuration. The spool valve is a hydraulically actuated slave valve that amplifies the flow capacity of the thermally actuated direct-acting microvalve 22. The standard spool valve design typically consists of a two-port main flow valve and a command and feedback port system, through which the direct-acting valve controls the spool valve movements. The pilot-spool type of microvalve 22 may be configured so it mimics the linear movements of the direct-acting type of microvalve 22. In a different configuration, the pilot-spool type of microvalve 22 precisely matches outgoing pressure to the incoming pressure signal. The direct-acting type of microvalve 22 provides the hydraulic “signal” to the spool valve. However, it will be appreciated that this invention may be practiced with other types of control and monitoring devices.

The microvalve 22 may be connected to conventional wireless components for receiving and sending signals (not shown). For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , each of the intelligent controllers 12 may include both microvalve and wireless components.

The intelligent controllers 12 may provide a variety of functions. For example, the intelligent controllers 12 of this invention may (1) raise and monitor the system health of an HVAC system unit, such as but not limited to a heating and air conditioning unit; (2) provide an intelligent monitoring system from the cloud network for the purpose of sensing the system health and sending actions to rectify the heating and cooling unit automatically; (3) provide automatic services to the end user, such as reports about system health and system performance; history of actions taken; automatically provide ease-of-use billing services that may be accessed on any computer/handheld device; (4) communicate wirelessly through standard wireless access methods (including, for example, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, cellular modems, Bluetooth, RFID, spread spectrum); (5) respond to a variety of policies sent from service providers and adapt the software accordingly; and (6) control a silicon expansion valve, such as the one shown in FIG. 2 , for heating, cooling, and sensor applications.

Additionally, the intelligent controller 12 is configured to measure critical air conditioning system parameters such as: a) compressor discharge and suction pressure, and compressor temperature, b) air out, evaporator out, and condenser out temperatures, and c) superheat and subcooling.

These parameters may then be used as an input to the cloud platform 13 via any of the embodiments of the control apparatus 10, 40, and 50 illustrated herein to autonomously monitor air conditioning system 12B health (e.g., superheat control, subcooling, coil air flow, and the like), and real-time refrigerant charge levels.

These parameters may then be used to schedule air conditioning system 12B preventative maintenance and service calls, and monitor carbon footprint metrics for air conditioning systems. These carbon footprint metrics for air conditioning systems may include the air conditioning system performance, a load on the energy grid, contractor performance measured from dispatch to resolution, and building temperature drift from an established cooling envelope. These parameters may further be used to estimate energy usage based on a true system run-time without additional, cumbersome power monitoring equipment.

In accordance with this invention, the cloud platform 13 may retain a variety of information tied specifically to an HVAC unit. Such information may include, but is not limited to: permission to access system data, share system data, and sell system data, monitoring data such as system performance, weather during system operation, maintenance data such as a preventative maintenance log, a parts replaced log, and the like, and a manufacture build of materials list, an operations manual, and the like.

As described above, the installation of the intelligent controller 12 in an existing air conditioning system will not void a manufacturer warranty. When monitoring data such as system performance, and weather during system operation, the intelligent controller 12 may be installed at the contractor service ports of an HVAC system 12B and configured to measure and record parameters including, but not limited to: compressor suction temperature, compressor suction pressure, evaporator out temperature, compressor discharge temperature, compressor discharge pressure, and condenser out temperature. The evaporator out superheat, and condenser out sub-cooling may then be calculated based on the measured parameters.

Advantageously, these measured parameters will help determine: the real-time refrigerant charge, the HVAC system health, the required HVAC system maintenance and service calls, the carbon footprint of the HVAC system, and a load on the energy grid.

A building thermostat that controls the HVAC system data may also be streamed directly to the cloud database 20 and 30. This solves a fundamental problem such that with the invention it is possible to aggregate thermostat data and system performance data at the same time.

When monitoring and recording maintenance data such as a preventative maintenance log and a parts replaced log, the cloud platform 13 may automatically dispatch to, or otherwise contact, any contractor in the database, including but not limited to, a building owner's preferred contractor, without user intervention, when an air conditioning unit or system 12B requires preventative maintenance. When the preferred contractor, or an otherwise established contractor, is not available, the cloud platform 13 may automatically open the job for any contractor to bid upon. When one stakeholder, for example, the building owner, real-estate management company, renter, or other responsible party, accepts a bid, all other stakeholders may be notified.

The contractor's movement to a job site and a completed job report may be directly loaded onto the cloud platform 13. The service record is tied to the specific air conditioning system and all parties may access the records. With current, known systems, maintenance records typically stay with just one of the stakeholders. Thus, whenever there is a change in any stakeholder, the maintenance records may become lost, and no individual stakeholder will have a history of all maintenance records that had been created. The cloud platform 13 will also aggregate the maintenance records, build a ledger, and establish a record of changes of parts under warranty and changes of parts that are outside of warranty. A manufacturer may also use the cloud platform 13 to notify a stakeholder of any product recall in a manner much quicker than currently possible. A manufacturer may also purchase real-time data of a specific air conditioning system performance in a specific location to design better systems.

Advantageously, the control apparatus 10, 40, and 50 may also function as a heating and cooling carbon footprint monitor, thus allowing the stakeholder to know when to replace a system. In the illustrated embodiments, the cloud platform 13 will incorporate a carbon footprint monitor. The carbon footprint monitor will aggregate the monitoring data and the maintenance data from the cloud platform 13.

For example, a refrigerant leak is highly detrimental to the environment. Since continuous monitoring may identify gradual refrigerant leaks over time, the cloud platform 13 may quickly notify all stakeholders that a gradual a refrigerant leak has been detected and that the refrigerant leak needs to be fixed within a specific time period to avoid an undesirable and excessive long run-time of the HVAC or air conditioning system 12B, avoiding placing undesirable stress on the electric grid, and further ensuring that the HVAC or air conditioning system 12B does not pollute the environment, and thus ensuring that the HVAC or air conditioning system 12B does not have a direct and negative impact on the climate.

The carbon footprint monitor within the cloud platform 13 may also use aggregated monitoring and maintenance data in a transparent manner such that stakeholders may know the true cost to owning an older HVAC or air conditioning system 12B. The aggregated monitoring and maintenance data may provide a minimum amount of information to indicate to stakeholders the proper time to purchase a new HVAC or air conditioning system 12B by considering cooling cost, preventative maintenance cost, historic parts replacement and repair cost, refrigerant recharge cost, and the like. This data may be shared with a municipality, electric grid managers, building owners, and others, to ensure that the right incentives are in place for complete HVAC or air conditioning system 12B system replacement.

By using the microvalve 22 with the intelligent controllers 12, this invention has the unique capability of delivering the health of the heating and cooling applications within the HVAC system almost instantaneously. In addition, home/office/store/homeowners may choose to allow the sensor to dump the system performance data to an open source cloud that enables, organizations, such as for example, higher learning institutions, private institutions, and governmental entities, to run remote data analysis on the overall heating and cooling system performance within community, municipality, or even a whole city. The data may then be used to advise homeowners, store, owners, utilities, and governments agencies more accurately on the use and the condition of the systems. By wirelessly networking the sensors, utility and end users may have access to vast amount of data for closely monitoring trends of a systems' performance.

Advantageously, monitoring data for multiple buildings in one or more cities may be aggregated in a ranking database to create a carbon footprint score for each building in an open cloud platform, such as the cloud platform 13. Cities may assign a maximum cooling carbon footprint score per building. When air conditioning systems operate above the assigned maximum cooling carbon footprint score, the building owners may elect to offset the high carbon footprint score by purchasing carbon credits from buildings that operate below the city assigned maximum cooling carbon footprint score. The cloud platform 13 is configured to support real time carbon credit trading between users to meet a city's cooling carbon footprint standards. If, at the end of each year, there are no credits available to be traded by building owners, a city may then impose penalties or rebates that may incentivize or otherwise motivate building owners to shift to efficient cooling systems. Significantly, implementation and use of the control apparatus 10, 40, and 50 and the methods of controlling multiple HVAC systems described herein, will enable equitable distribution and use of energy within a city or other jurisdiction.

Thus, this invention provides a unique plug-and-play solution that may be used by end-users/service providers to handle local systems. The solution is flexible so that different users may be configured to access different types of heating and cooling sub-systems based on various configuration settings. This invention also provides a unique solution that will be able to provide various policies to various configurations to handle specific cases. For example, an HVAC system maintenance company in a particular location may download a policy to handle projects in a particular residential area. Similarly, another consulting firm will download another policy to handle projects in an office building. All of this intelligence will be handled by the invention's unique solution as a cloud service that may communicate with the cloud intelligent gateway 32 in the cloud platform 13 described above and illustrated by the architectures herein. Additionally, the control system 10 of this invention may be used to update the software that is used in the intelligent controllers 12 and/or other devices.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a second type of controller, indicated generally at 22′, that may be used in the control system 10 shown in FIG. 1 . For example, each of the intelligent controllers 12 may include the illustrated microvalve 22′, which may, for example, be embodied as a SuperHeat Controller, which is also commercially available from DunAn Microstaq of Austin, Tex.

A second embodiment 40 of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 , wherein like reference numbers are used to indicate components that are similar to those described and illustrated in connection with the first embodiment 10 of this invention. The second embodiment 40 includes a pair of home gateway and storage units (GSUs) 42 and 44, each of which includes software intelligent enough to converse with the intelligent controllers 12, as well as the cloud platform 13, when a connection is available. The home gateway and storage units 42 and 44 are provided in lieu of the local area network 14 and the local intelligent gateway illustrated in FIG. 1 . Thus, the second embodiment 40 accommodates a home environment where there may be circumstances during which the wireless connection is not available all the time. While the second embodiment 40 is described and illustrated as having two GSUs 42 and 44, it will be appreciated that the invention may also be practiced with a greater or lesser number of such GSUs 42 and 44.

A third embodiment 50 of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5 , wherein like reference numbers are used to indicate components that are similar to those described and illustrated in connection with the first embodiment 10 of this invention. In the third embodiment 50, a cell phone infrastructure 52 is used instead of a local area network infrastructure, such as Wi-Fi. The cell phone infrastructure 52 includes a local cellular telephone tower 54 that receives and transmits signals from and to the intelligent controllers 12. The signals are transmitted through a general packet radio services (GPRS) network 56 and GSU 58 to the cloud intelligent gateway 32.

Although the various embodiments of this invention have been described and illustrated as including DunAn Microstaq intelligent controllers and microvalves, it will be appreciated that the invention may also be practiced with other available controllers, valves, sensors, and similar devices. Additionally, while the system has been described as controlling HVAC systems, the system may also be used to control other systems, such as a refrigeration system. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that components shown in each of the embodiments may also be used in the other embodiments. Thus, for example, it would be possible to use both a local intelligent gateway 16 to control selected end devices 12 and a GSU 42 to control other end devices in the same system (not shown).

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiments. However, it must be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A control apparatus for controlling at least one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising: a microvalve; at least one intelligent controller; a local intelligent gateway in communication with the intelligent controller; a cloud platform in communication with the local intelligent gateway; and a local device configured to communicate through the cloud platform to the intelligent controller; the intelligent controller configured to: control one or more HVAC components; measure air conditioning system parameters including compressor discharge and suction pressure and compressor temperature of a compressor within the HVAC system, and air out, evaporator out, and condenser out temperatures, and superheat and subcooling; and input the measured air conditioning system parameters to the cloud platform to autonomously monitor air conditioning system health and real-time refrigerant charge levels.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitored air conditioning system health includes at least one of superheat control, subcooling, and coil air flow.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the intelligent controller is further configured to use the measured air conditioning system parameters to schedule air conditioning system preventative maintenance and service calls.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the intelligent controller is further configured to use the measured air conditioning system parameters to monitor carbon footprint metrics for air conditioning systems.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the carbon footprint metrics for air conditioning systems include at least one of the air conditioning system performance, a load on a connected energy grid, contractor performance measured from dispatch to resolution, and building temperature drift from an established cooling envelope.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one intelligent controller is further configured to perform one or more of: (1) improving and monitoring the system health of the one or more HVAC/R components, (2) communicating wirelessly to the local intelligent gateway, (3) responding to a variety of policies sent from service providers and adapting operating software in the one or more HVAC components, and (4) controlling the microvalve.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the intelligent controller is further configured to use the measured air conditioning system parameters to estimate energy usage based on system run-time.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the microvalve is configured as a silicon expansion valve.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the local device is a computer.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intelligent controller is a superheat controller.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intelligent controller is further configured to monitor carbon credit use for a defined period of time and notify the HVAC system user of the carbon credit use amount.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, further including a building thermostat that controls the HVAC system data, the thermostat configured to stream the HVAC system data directly to a database in the cloud platform, and to aggregate HVAC system data from the thermostat and system performance data simultaneously.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cloud platform is configured to monitor and record maintenance data including a preventative maintenance log and a parts replaced log, and wherein the cloud platform is also configured to automatically dispatch a contractor in the database when the air conditioning system requires preventative maintenance.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the contractor's movement to a job site and a completed job report are directly loaded onto the cloud platform.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the cloud platform is configured to aggregate maintenance records, build a ledger, and establish a record of changes of parts under warranty and changes of parts that are outside of warranty.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is configured to function as a heating and cooling carbon footprint monitor, thus indicating to a stakeholder when to replace an air conditioning system.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the cloud platform includes the carbon footprint monitor, and wherein the carbon footprint monitor aggregates monitoring data and maintenance data from the cloud platform.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the carbon footprint monitor within the cloud platform is configured to use the aggregated monitoring and maintenance data to present to stakeholders the cost of owning an older HVAC or air conditioning system, and an indicator of the proper time to purchase a new HVAC or air conditioning system.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the carbon footprint monitor within the cloud platform is configured to monitor data for multiple buildings in one or more cities, wherein the data from the multiple buildings is aggregated in a ranking database to create a carbon footprint score for each building in the cloud platform, wherein entities that receive the data from the multiple buildings assign a maximum cooling carbon footprint score per building.
 20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein when the assigned maximum cooling carbon footprint score is exceeded, the cloud platform is configured to support real time carbon credit trading between users to meet a city's cooling carbon footprint standards.
 21. A method for controlling at least one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising the steps of: providing a system comprised of a microvalve; at least one intelligent controller; a local intelligent gateway in communication with the intelligent controller; a cloud platform in communication with the local intelligent gateway; and a local device in communication with the cloud platform; and entering an instruction for operation of the at least one HVAC system into the local device; the intelligent controller configured to: control one or more HVAC components; measure air conditioning system parameters including compressor discharge and suction pressure and compressor temperature of a compressor within the HVAC system, and air out, evaporator out, and condenser out temperatures, and superheat and subcooling; and input the measured air conditioning system parameters to the cloud platform to autonomously monitor air conditioning system health and real-time refrigerant charge levels.
 22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the monitored air conditioning system health includes at least one of superheat control, subcooling, and coil air flow; and wherein the intelligent controller is further configured to use the measured air conditioning system parameters to schedule air conditioning system preventative maintenance and service calls.
 23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the intelligent controller is further configured to use the measured air conditioning system parameters to monitor carbon footprint metrics for air conditioning systems; and wherein the carbon footprint metrics for air conditioning systems include at least one of the air conditioning system performance, a load on a connected energy grid, contractor performance measured from dispatch to resolution, and building temperature drift from an established cooling envelope.
 24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the at least one intelligent controller is further configured to perform one or more of: (1) improving and monitoring the system health of the one or more HVAC/R components, (2) communicating wirelessly to the local intelligent gateway, (3) responding to a variety of policies sent from service providers and adapting operating software in the one or more HVAC components, (4) controlling the microvalve, and (5) use the measured air conditioning system parameters to estimate energy usage based on system run-time.
 25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the microvalve is configured as a silicon expansion valve, wherein the local device is a computer, and wherein the intelligent controller is a superheat controller.
 26. The method according to claim 21, further including a building thermostat that controls the HVAC system data, the thermostat configured to stream the HVAC system data directly to a database in the cloud platform, and to aggregate HVAC system data from the thermostat and system performance data simultaneously, wherein the intelligent controller is further configured to monitor carbon credit use for a defined period of time and notify the HVAC system user of the carbon credit use amount, wherein the cloud platform is configured to monitor and record maintenance data including a preventative maintenance log and a parts replaced log, and wherein the cloud platform is also configured to automatically dispatch a contractor in the database when the air conditioning system requires preventative maintenance.
 27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the contractor's movement to a job site and a completed job report are directly loaded onto the cloud platform, and wherein the cloud platform is configured to aggregate maintenance records, build a ledger, and establish a record of changes of parts under warranty and changes of parts that are outside of warranty.
 28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the cloud platform includes a heating and cooling carbon footprint monitor, wherein the carbon footprint monitor aggregates monitoring data and maintenance data from the cloud platform, and indicates to a stakeholder when to replace an air conditioning system.
 29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the carbon footprint monitor within the cloud platform is configured to use the aggregated monitoring and maintenance data to present to stakeholders the cost of owning an older HVAC or air conditioning system, and an indicator of the proper time to purchase a new HVAC or air conditioning system.
 30. The method according to claim 28, wherein the carbon footprint monitor within the cloud platform is configured to monitor data for multiple buildings in one or more cities, wherein the data from the multiple buildings is aggregated in a ranking database to create a carbon footprint score for each building in the cloud platform, wherein entities that receive the data from the multiple buildings assign a maximum cooling carbon footprint score per building.
 31. The method according to claim 30, wherein when the assigned maximum cooling carbon footprint score is exceeded, the cloud platform is configured to support real time carbon credit trading between users to meet a city's cooling carbon footprint standards. 